A Bihar police cop snatched Rs 8 lakh while frisking a cashier of a gold trader. The police recovered the money from the cop’s house - all within 12 hours.

A cop posted in Motihari was arrested and remanded in judicial custody on Monday on charges of snatching Rs 8.80 lakh from a gold trader of Motihari late Saturday evening.

Acting swiftly on a complaint, town inspector Ajay Kumar arrested one Dhananjay Singh, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police,posted at a police outpost under Town police station in Motihari, and recovered the whole amount within 12 hours of the incident.

Confirming the arrest, Motihari superintendent of police (SP) Jitendra Rana said, “Some men in uniform allegedly snatched the money while frisking Chotan Jha, a munshi (cashier) of Manoj Kumar, a gold trader at Ghorasahan, a small town along the Indo-Nepal border.”

The incident occurred when Jha, who was returning from Patna, alighted from a private bus near Mina Bazar Chowk in Motihari. The cop in question, who was on night duty, intercepted Jha and found during frisking that he was carrying the huge cash.

Out of sheer greed, he snatched Rs 8.80 lakh and allegedly threatened the munshi not to divulge the matter to any one. In the morning, when the victim tried to contact Singh, he refused to acknowledge the incident, which prompted him to consult the Town police station (PS) inspector.

Town PS inspector, Ajay Kumar, reached the outpost and asked Singh about the incident, which the latter outrightly rejected. Kumar then consulted the SP who ordered Singh’s arrest. Later, while interrogation, Singh admitted to the loot.

A police team later went to his government quarter and recovered the money. The local trading community has appreciated the prompt police action.